Greetings!

Some of the newer programmers (and even some of the more experienced ones) may be confused as to where to get an IDE / compiler for one or more languages.


.NET
Microsoft provides free IDEs for each of their languages under the .Net platform, in a more lightweight form than the commercial standard. These are excellent for hobbyist developers, such as myself.

You can find out more and download these IDEs / compilers HERE

IC#Code also provides a free open source IDE called #develop, and a couple of free libraries for Visual Basic .Net and C# .Net. You can take a look at #develop and other related projects HERE

C/C++
I'm going to mention some IDEs that I've used from personal experience.

CodeBlocks is definitely my favourite so far. It offers support for Dev-C++ and Microsoft VC++ project files, and has support for many different compilers. It also has default profiles for third-party libraries (especially in 3D development) such as Irrlicht and Ogre 3D, as well as a GUI builder for the wxWidgets GUI library. You can view features and download CodeBlocks HERE

Dev-C++ is one of the more commonly used free IDEs that I've heard of, even though it's rather old and isn't updated any more. It's a pretty standard IDE, and it works, so that's what counts I guess.

You may also use Microsoft's Visual C++ Express IDE, as it has support for standard C++ as well as "managed" C++.

Java
For Java, another few IDEs that I've used from personal experience and liked.

Eclipse is a modular IDE that focuses around Java, but it is extremely modular, meaning there are plugins allowing for different language profiles. Eclipse can be used for anything from Java to C++ to PHP.

NetBeans is the free IDE offered by Sun which also has support for languages like C++ (though it is often harder to set up than Eclipse). The only real feature I liked about Netbeans was its GUI builder, but I guess its always a matter of personal preference.

JCreator is a lightweight IDE that is nice for developing Java software. Recommended by Slashshot007.

Object Pascal
http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/ - Free IDE for Object Pascal

Other
http://notepad-plus.sf.net/ - Notepad++, decent, pluggable and free syntax highlighting text editor.
http://context.cx/ - Same deal as Notepad++.

Any more IDEs?
Just post or message me and I'll add some FREE IDEs to the list on request.

Cheers,
-Swan, SuF

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Ooh, I didn't know about IC#Code, thanks for the link

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JCreator, a java ide. It is alot more lightweight then netbeans and eclipse, and is all that i believe would be necessary for beginners. It is my compiler of choice.
http://www.jcreator.com/

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Very nice.... and yea, i have used jcreator... its pretty nice too..

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thank you so much for the link for the .NET i didnt know about this. if i need help can i PM you?

Lazarus, for Object Pascal.
It's basically a free IDE of Delphi.

http://www.lazarus.freepascal.org/

Notepad ++

OpenObject, A RAD (Visual) Application Framework for Python

https://launchpad.net/openobject

http://notepad-plus.sourceforge.net/uk/site.htm

Notepad++ is the only IDE you need.

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But notepad++ isn't really an IDE, it's more like Notepad with Syntax highlighting.

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Great list. I'd like to note that if you're running a large project, for example a bot or other frequently updated program, you can apply for a free IntelliJ IDEA license. In my opinion IntelliJ is the best IDE for experienced java programmers.

As far as new programmers in any language, I'd stick with Notepad++ for highlighting syntax and hammer it out myself. It will help you learn the fundamentals properly, and in the long run you'll be happy with this choice.

IntelliJ is rather nice (or so I thought before my trial was up >_>)... actually, I reformatted recently, so I could probably reinstall it. Thanks for reminding me, Lol

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Actually, back in the day when I was updating JMacro, somebody managed to get one of these special licenses for the program. It was a while ago, so it may be invalid, but I'll search through my files and see what I can find. It was for everybody (including people writing scrips) to use.

jEdit -- It isn't really an IDE or anything, it just does some useful things like syntax highlighting, automatic indents, allows for markers and folds, has a macro system, plugins, and quite a bit more. It supports around 130 programming languages for syntax highlighting and is built in Java, so obviously it runs on any OS. Having never tried NP++, I can't really say how the two compare, but I've been using jEdit for a while and it hasn't presented a big enough problem for me to consider uninstalling and getting a different program.

http://www.jedit.org

EDIT: After checking out NP++ more closely, jEdit appears to have more available programming language support and plugins available, but NP++ provides some unique features like zooming in and file status notification (of file being modified or deleted somewhere while open in NP++). Looking at this, however, most of the features both programs have, the ones more likely to be used (Honestly, printing my code...[in color...]? Not useful for me, personally), so I'd recommend to check out both, seeing as this topic is specifically aimed at those unsure of where to get a good editor/IDE (either NP++ or jEdit can be IDE's using plugins, I believe)

http://www.smallbasic.com/

This is a very simple and easy-to-use language and environment for beginners. You can't make anything really useful with it, but if you're looking to learn programming but don't want to jump in to something which may be too hard for you, this is a good place to start.

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Visual studio is by far the best for c++ and c#, yes it does cost about £8000 for a license but it depends where you get it from ^^

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I have absolutely nothing to do until school starts, which is next March and I decided that I should learn programming.

If I wanted to learn Java, would this be a good program to start with?
I'm planning on starting from the very basics

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